Is it the jellied type or the relish kind? the jelly type has a lot of pectin in it. often excessive pectin is problematic, it stalls fermentation, gives higher SG readings and makes accurate ABV difficult as there is know way to differentiate the density of the pectin as opposed to the sugar.
Not to say it can't be done many make wine from jam, or jelly Just be aware of that.
If the relish type go for it no questions asked. add plenty of pectic enzyme with that also.
I would really put the pectic enzyme to it. dissolve the cranberry jelly in warm water Add 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons Potassium metabisulphite to protect it and somewhere between 2 to 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme per gallon. let it sit for 3 to 5 days to allow the enzyme to work a bit.
Also set the specific gravity a bit higher than you normally would or the wine will have a low Alcohol by volume. I generally find jam wines petter out around 1.030.. This is not because the yeast has stalled, but has converted the available sugars, the pectin makes the liquid denser, the hydrometer simply reads this density.
A way to know is when the ferment seems to have stopped, The Sg stays the same for 3 days. add a tablespoon of dissolved sugar to it. if the fermentation resumes. you have reached dryness, and the hydrometer is reading the density of the pectin.
I came to work this method out when a friend gave me 22 cases of seedless blackberry jam.
sounds like you had some fun making that wine ,, what was the number of gals you ended up with ????? I do plan on giving it a try as all I will have in it is the sugar mainly ,, and it will just be fun and a learning thing
sounds like you had some fun making that wine ,, what was the number of gals you ended up with ????? I do plan on giving it a try as all I will have in it is the sugar mainly ,, and it will just be fun and a learning thing
I did not make it all at the same time. but I looked through my notebooks and as best I can count over a 2 year period I made 30 5 gallon bathes when making jam wine there is a tremendous amount of sediment, Or at least this stuff had a lot. A batch was started with 5.75 gallons of must in a primary after the racking into a carboy there was 5 gallons, the next racking went into a 3 gallon carboy and a 1/2 gallon growler. the growler was used for topping up the subsequent racking. and when finished I would up with about 3 gallons per batch. I will say it did make a tasty wine, with lots of berry flavor.
